Summary
François Mitterrand's *Le Coup d'État permanent* argues that the French Fifth Republic's semi-presidential system inherently concentrates power in the hands of the President, effectively creating a "permanent coup d'état" against parliamentary democracy. Mitterrand contends that the President's constitutional powers, combined with the ability to dissolve the National Assembly and control the government's agenda, undermine the legislature's role and lead to an executive dictatorship, even when the President's party does not hold a parliamentary majority.
The book details how this presidential dominance distorts the political process, reduces the government to an instrument of the presidency, and limits genuine debate and accountability. Readers gain insight into the structural imbalances within the Fifth Republic and understand Mitterrand's critique of its undemocratic tendencies, highlighting how the formal constitutional framework enables an informal but potent accumulation of executive authority.
Full text isn't indexed yet — this overview draws on general knowledge of the book and its metadata, and chat works the same way.
Key concepts
- Semi-presidentialism — A system of government that blends presidential and parliamentary features, with an elected president and a prime minister responsible to the legislature.
- Parliamentary sovereignty — The principle that the legislature is the supreme legal authority in a state, capable of making or unmaking any law.
- Executive dominance — The concentration of power within the executive branch of government, often at the expense of legislative or judicial branches.
- Institutional bias — The inherent tendency of a system's structure to favor certain outcomes or actors over others.